In programming or loading of non-volatile flash memories with data or programs, it is sometimes necessary to interrupt programming in order to read data. For example, the system-may require data from the memory. Once the data is read, programming may resume.
Opcodes in the programming sequence will indicate suspend and resume requests for this purpose.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,469 to T. Tsuboi it is known that as a data write or programming process is suspended, a programming timer is suspended and the programming voltage is halted. When the suspension is lifted, programming proceeds, with the programming timer active again. Of course, it is possible that a program will request very frequent data updates, requiring frequent suspension of the programming process. In this situation, the programming process may not finish or may experience long delays because on start of programming a pre-charge step is typical for set up. An object of the invention is to devise a programming process for a non-volatile memory wherein programming is subject to suspend requests but programming can be completed efficiently.